Ireland is a nation of festivals the year round, but in summer there are literally hundreds of festivals going on, with dozens on an average weekend. Let’s take a look at a few highlights from June through the end of August 2014.
Take a chance to let the hair down and go out for a bit of ‘craic’, take the opportunity to do something stimulating, new – or downright eccentric. From the local town and village festivals to massive celebrations and exciting vibes in the cities, where should you go, what should you see? Read on – here’s a guide through some of the best summer festivals in 2014Cork Midsummer Festival (21 – 30 June) has been one of Ireland’s leading international multi-disciplinary arts festivals since 1997. It transforms Cork, Ireland’s third biggest city, every June with a choc-full programme of local, national and international events including theatre, dance, opera, music, visual arts and outdoor arts.
This festival has mega reputation for presenting work in unusual and surprising locations, as well as in the city’s many well-appointed arts venues. Head for Cork Midsummer Festival and you could be on a boat in the harbour at 4.00am to see in the dawn, dancing with a stranger late at night in an empty shop unit, or maybe taking to the Cork Opera House stage.
In July every year, acts from around the globe head to Dublin and Cork to compete for the Street Performance World Championship (Dublin, 11 – 13 July; Cork, 19 – 20 July). Get ready for an action-packed festival full to the brim with jaw-dropping jugglers, awe-inspiring acrobatics, spine-tingling sword swallowers. Balloon artists, food venders and all sorts of quirky art installations swell the fun-filled atmosphere in both cities.
Wrote Arthur O’Shaughnessy in his poem entitled Ode. We invite you to come dream with us in Lismore this June Bank holiday weekend for the fifth annual Lismore Music Festival. Now in its 5th year the Lismore Music Festival is Ireland’s only Summer opera festival and continues to grow in size, reputation and audience numbers despite lack of funding.
This year they will have two performances (Saturday 31st May & Sunday 1st June) of an original production of one of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire. Directed by Dieter Kaegi and Conducted by Marco Zambelli, Mozart’s Magic Flute is arguably one of the greatest and most popular operas ever written. It is a magical tale that takes us to the heart of one man’s search for love and his struggle to find truth. Their original production will be set in a Circus and be sung in English with the LMF Chamber Orchestra.
In Dublin the action takes place in Merrion Square; in Cork it centres on Fitzgerald Park. The audiences vote for their favourite performers on site and the act with the most public votes in total is crowned champion. This one is a truly atmospheric festival that will take your breath away.
A thunderous roar will resound from glen to glen for the Dalriada Festival in County Antrim (13 – 19 July). This culture fest is dedicated to the shared Irish-Scots heritage that makes Northern Ireland so distinctive. The setting is a joy – the grounds of Glenarm Castle in the rugged Glens of Antrim.
The Galway Arts Festival (14 – 27 July) is Ireland’s largest annual arts festival, taking place every July in the city of Galway on Ireland’s west coast.
The Happy Days Festival (31 July – 10 August) celebrates the work and influence of Irish Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett. It takes place annually in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, where Beckett spent his formative years attending Portora Royal School.
The Spraoi Festival is Ireland’s specialist street theatre and spectacle event, taking place in medieval Waterford (1 – 3 August). Spraoi, pronounced ‘spree’, is the Irish word for fun, exuberance and celebration, and this is the inspiration for some 200 street theatre and music performances, mostly free and family-friendly, taking place over the three festival days.
The All-Ireland Fleadh, the world’s greatest traditional Irish music festival returns to Sligo in 2014 (10 – 17 August).
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
